International Monetary Fund (IMF)
RBI’s Subbarao weighs merits of new consensus on capital controls
Duvvuri Subbarao says financial crisis shattered consensus view that capital controls should not be used, but deploying them correctly is still far from straightforward
People: Iceland deputy handed second term; IMF appoints new statistics head
Arnór Sighvatsson gets second and final term at Central Bank of Iceland; Canadian ‘chief statistician' makes DC switch to head IMF stats office
Lagarde says ECB has ‘room to manoeuvre' on rates
IMF managing director says it up to ECB when to cut rates but calls for co-ordinated policies worldwide to shift ‘from three-speed to full speed' global recovery
FSB and IMF ‘animosity’ claim rejected
Think-tank report blasts lack of co-ordination between organisations in early warning exercise; FSB secretariat member rebuffs claims, and brands exercises a success
Arbitrage threat kept 'fallible' leverage ratio to 4%, says Vickers
Vickers says his 'blue skies thinking' leverage ratio would have been 10%, and adds stress testing avoids banks gaming the system
IMF flags growing risks from low interest rate environment
Global financial stability report urges caution by central banks employing loose monetary policy; says lack of adjustment to medium-term challenges could create ‘chronic phase’ of crisis
IMF's Blanchard warns Europe could drag world economy down
IMF chief economist says ‘three-speed’ global economy could be dangerous; World Economic Outlook urges central banks to keep policy loose but be ready with an exit strategy
IMF researcher proposes new method for top-down stress testing
New, simple methodology for structural market-based top-down macro stress tests aims to overcome onerous data requirements
IMF annual report says asset bubbles among risks of ‘MP-plus'
IMF warns of risk associated with loose monetary policy in the world's biggest economies, but says stance should remain 'very accommodative until recovery is well established'
Lagarde highlights emergence of ‘three-speed’ global economy
IMF managing director says differences between regions are ‘starker than ever’ as emerging markets leave many advanced economies behind
IMF says independent central banks have ‘muzzled’ the inflation threat
World Economic Outlook says central banks have little reason to fear inflation resulting from loose policy – so long as their independence is upheld
IMF and Sarb push for stronger systemic supervision in Africa
Joint effort to highlight importance of macro-prudential approach in addition to scrutiny of individual institutions; IMF pushing for tighter supervision
Lagarde fears ‘unintended consequences’ of monetary easing
IMF managing director fears side effects from low interest rates and asset purchases; says there is a limit to the share of the burden of recovery that monetary policy can take
IMF paper uses monetary model to explain term premium
Study says central bank supply of liquidity influences asset prices; argues that this relationship can explain greater proportion of term premium than non-monetary models
IMF working paper examines monetary policy ‘leaning against the wind'
Monetary authorities that want to stimulate the economy while maintaining financial stability should cut deeper, but then raise rates again faster
IMF strikes €1 billion funding deal with Cyprus
Staff team agrees Fund’s contribution to overall bail-out package; Christine Lagarde praises Cyprus’s ‘ambitious’ programme of reforms
IMF calls on Hungary to safeguard central bank independence
The Fund's executive board urges National Bank of Hungary to preserve legal and operational independence; encourages a 'pause' in monetary easing
IMF paper recommends China adopt ‘better-targeted’ macro-prudential policies
Study encourages China to tailor macro-prudential tools to regional and economics differences in country’s banks; suggests coupling policies with greater commercialisation
IMF paper contrasts European countries’ capital accounts
Finds capital accounts rebalanced faster in emerging European countries than in the periphery; attributes difference to faster wage and public sector adjustment
Central Bank of Egypt hikes rates as reserves dwindle and inflation rises
Monetary Policy Committee agrees 50 basis point rise despite ‘feeble’ growth, as inflation shows highest rise since 2010 and reserves fall to critical levels
IMF research identifies ‘strong macro-financial linkages’ in eastern Europe
Working paper finds macroeconomic factors closely tied to non-performing loans in central, eastern and southeast Europe; warns of ‘strong feedback effects’ between banks and economy
IMF paper says competition is a motive for forex intervention by emerging markets
Study examines activity of emerging market economies in foreign exchange markets; finds competitiveness can be a motivating factor
IMF urges ‘more forceful action’ to end Europe’s woes
Report on European financial stability says situation remains ‘tenuous’ in eurozone; calls on authorities to act fast to repair balance sheets and set up banking union
IMF attempts to sculpt better stress tests
Stress tests are ‘more art than science’ but can be improved and expanded, according to IMF study; cannot be standardised across countries